Novartis is broadening its cancer immunotherapy research program with the acquisition of CoStim Pharmaceuticals, a Cambridge, Mass.-based, privately held biotechnology company focused on harnessing the immune system to eliminate immune-blocking signals from cancer.
Increasing evidence points to the role of the immune system in controlling cancer, and to opportunities for creating effective oncology therapies for cancer patients by stimulating a targeted immune response. Novartis is adding late discovery stage immunotherapy programs directed to several targets, including PD-1. These medicines could benefit patients by circumventing cancer's ability to develop resistance against current single drugs.
"Therapy for many types of cancers are expected to increasingly rely upon rational combinations of agents," said Mark Fishman, president of the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research. "Immunotherapy agents provide additional arrows in our quiver for such combinations. They complement our extensive portfolio of drugs that hit genetically-defined cancer-causing pathways, and also may be relevant to expansion of CAR therapies."
